First Experiences on the SBINZ Technical Team – by Josh Taylor

Getting a group of instructors and trainers who work at different resorts to all be in the same place at the same time is no easy feat. But we did it, both after hours and on-snow.

The topic on everyone’s mind once we got together for an indoor session was “Interski”. What is it? Why are we going? And how are we going to uphold and strengthen the presence of the New Zealand snowboard team from previous years?

More importantly, before Interski comes around, how do we bring value to the membership as a team?

One of the main answers to this last question is the delivery of education and training throughout the country during the 2018 winter season.

We decided that we wanted to develop an on-snow clinic to present throughout NZ, then evolve into something we can take to Interski the following summer. To come up with this clinic we needed a theme and, even though the official Interski theme isn’t finalised, there has been email correspondence between the organisers and the teams, making mention of titles such as “passion”, “lifestyle” and “achievement”. We brainstormed during our indoor session and took some ideas out on the mountain for two on-snow training days.

Here’s a few shots from our time on-snow this season…

The day started well with a stunning sunrise at Cardrona – by Keith Stubbs

Going through this process has been an awesome experience for me, as I’ve had the opportunity to spend time and learn from some of the industry’s best. As I was the only team member selected without a Trainer’s Certification at the time, I felt a lot of pressure on my shoulders. But with great support from everyone around me, I was able to use the pressure and nerves to my advantage, and I am totally stoked to get to where I am – having passed the Trainer’s Cert this season!

One of the most important things to us as a team is to keep the SBINZ membership informed and up to date with everything we’re doing as it happens. So in the coming year or so, we’ll keep posting blogs with what we’ve been discussing and ideas that are on the table.

At the start of the 2018 NZ season we’ll present our first version of the on-snow clinic at Examiner Training (pressure’s on!) to get feedback from all the training staff before taking it to resorts around the country during the winter.

We’re then planning to offer two open indoor presentations, in Queenstown and Wanaka, which we hope to provide free to SBINZ members. Watch this space!

We’re also considering how to continue developing SBINZ’s awesome educational resources. As you all know we have a new manual out with a lot of new content. We’re hoping to put together some short videos bringing to life some of the newer and tougher concepts in the manual. This will not only be helpful for those working towards exams but also a great chance to be introduced to and get to know the team.

Looking on to Interski in 2019, we’ll be working closely with the other NZSIA divisions to ensure that the NZ system is well-represented on the world stage, with the goal of creating more employment opportunities for our amazing SBINZ instructors!